What is your opinion about wagons?

[tigeo]

I love yours and KarstGEO’s on VWVortex so much

Almost as if.....they were the same person...hahahahaha

 

[tigeo]

lol I’ve been back and forth and back again over this for a bit now.

Ultimately, I mapped the financial gains + savings based on this Vroom offer ($29,7xx) between now and April which, combined with the promotion I just got and my tax return/bonus come April will mean a significant sum of money saved up / debt paid off. Like - “pay off all debts, buy a house, and start a business by 2023 instead of current realistic goal of 2025.” So I have to do this, it will make such a big difference in my life.

not to mention the thousands worth of parts I haven’t installed that will just be more cash back in my pocket

Totally understand. When I was first out of grad school I bought a new '00 XJ Cherokee.....loved it....had to come to the realization that the $350 car payment didn't work when my wife and I had our first child and my wife stopped working/stayed at home. I sold it priately and used the proceeds (b/c I had put enough down/gotten it for a steal) that I had enough to pay cash or a '94 Civic commuter car. It happens...it's just a car. Sounds like you are making the right call. Good luck!

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Almost as if.....they were the same person...hahahahaha

I realized the likelihood of that as I was typing it

 

[vw_s]

Wagons are great. Give me a 2.0 IS38 or greater and my money will go towards that instead of a hatch.

Volkswagen, hello? Hello? Volkswagen??

 

[ElectricEye]

Generally don't like wagons, and think SUV's look better.
And hey, if I need the utility of wagon - might as well have the all weather and light off road capability of an SUV.
The days of SUV's being tippy, ill handling, and poor braking vehicles are long behind us.
One of the few exceptions where I like a wagon is the Audi RS6 wagon.
That thing is mean looking.

 

[tigeo]

Wagons are great. Give me a 2.0 IS38 or greater and my money will go towards that instead of a hatch.

Volkswagen, hello? Hello? Volkswagen??

The 1.8 w/IS38 is close enough.

2021 Audi Club Fall Finale at VIR - Green Group last session day 2. - YouTube

 

[golfdave]

Wagons are great. Give me a 2.0 IS38 or greater and my money will go towards that instead of a hatch.

Volkswagen, hello? Hello? Volkswagen??

We get the "R" MK7 & MK7.5 over here..only VW make it solely in DSG....I looked at getting one, but the DSG I don't like...& either I bought one & converted it to manual or I (almost) bought a crashed manual R hatch & converted mine to R spec......this a forum member has done over in the USA...

P.S....Wagons are more aerodynamic than a hatch......

 

[tigeo]

We get the "R" MK7 & MK7.5 over here..only VW make it solely in DSG....I looked at getting one, but the DSG I don't like...& either I bought one & converted it to manual or I (almost) bought a crashed manual R hatch & converted mine to R spec......this a forum member has done over in the USA...

P.S....Wagons are more aerodynamic than a hatch......

So cool to be able to get an R wagon...I'd buy it in a second if we had them here. The DSG is superb - love it in my Sportwagen. Mine is really a poor-mans attempt at a Golf R wagon...IS38, DSG, a few looks bits, slightly lower etc.

 

[golfdave]

So cool to be able to get an R wagon...I'd buy it in a second if we had them here. The DSG is superb - love it in my Sportwagen. Mine is really a poor-mans attempt at a Golf R wagon...IS38, DSG, a few looks bits, slightly lower etc.

Just wish VAG made their wagons in manual....now gone the way of Audi..all the sports wagons are DSG...

I hate DSG.......I've driven a few for short drives....I ended up having an argument with it even after I stuck it in sport...& the safety interlocks when only moving it around the driveway...just did my head in.

By the time I'm forced to drive an EV I hope I'm too feeble to care!

P.S...I've driven manual all my life & was partially taught by a mate of mine who was a test driver for a few rally teams...

 

[tigeo]

Just wish VAG made their wagons in manual....now gone the way of Audi..all the sports wagons are DSG...

I hate DSG.......I've driven a few for short drives....I ended up having an argument with it even after I stuck it in sport...& the safety interlocks when only moving it around the driveway...just did my head in.

By the time I'm forced to drive an EV I hope I'm too feeble to care!

P.S...I've driven manual all my life & was partially taught by a mate of mine who was a test driver for a few rally teams...

We got the Sportwagen and Alltrack here with available manuals...lots of folks have them. Challenge is adding power and many say they really aren't very good w/r to feel etc....lots of fixes though that people employ. I'll give you my 2 cents on the DSG and I've had plenty (and do have one now) sticks....I've heard the same comments from many die-hard manual4lyfe drivers and I always think...seriously...how hard is this...it's an auto? You have to stop and think about how it works/what it's trying or anticipating doing and drive it differently than a standard torque converter auto b/c it's mechanically a manual that shifts itself. I love mine and with a few exceptions, it's spot on where it needs to be when I need it....and when it's not, that's what the paddles are for. For example...track. Last weekend at the HPDE I did it was not downshifting (I just run it in sport mode the whole time) so I could power out of a particular turn...easy...mid-turn bang bang the left paddle and I'm now exiting smoothly in second and it rev-matches perfectly. Another time that will get you is accelerating slowly and now in 4th let's say and it's always anticipating the next gear so higher in this case...all of a sudden you need to accelerate more briskly and step on it...it fumbles b/c it's got 5th preloaded and you need second which is on the even gear shaft. No different than if you were in a stick and did the same thing...it wouldn't likely be a super fast or smooth shift.

Edit - imagine someone who bought a stick and didn't have much experience driving one came online and said "I tried a few times and it didn't do what I wanted so it's not for me" - manual folks would lose their f'ing minds.

 

[maxwell]

ooohhhhkay people, all i gotta say is 6mt or nothing. With a few fixes the MT is proper, just pray for no crankwalk with a super stiff clutch!

 

[tigeo]

ooohhhhkay people, all i gotta say is 6mt or nothing. With a few fixes the MT is proper, just pray for no crankwalk with a super stiff clutch!

I tend to buy the better trans for the car with the options available vs. "manual or nothing" which can be limiting....it's worked out well for me over my 33 years of driving. 9 cars in that time 4 autos (1 the DSG in my GSW) and 5 sticks each one chosen with a purpose. The only auto I regret is the W8 I have now but I love the car and am glad I bought it...but the 6-spd is the better trans hands down and no, I'm not swapping it which is quite frankly, silly...I'd just sell it and buy another. I probably should have test driven a manual GSW b/c they were available but it would have been the same outcome I think with the end-goal being send-it daily power, DSG. I figure I paid $1K more for the DSG and then had to tune it so another $800 or so but that would still beat the cost of me paying a shop to upgrade to a Southbend Stage 2 daily clutch. I don't think crank walk is as big of a deal as folks make it out to be but then again, I haven't had a total loss engine b/c o fit..hahahahha Shift on WMEJs!

 

[golfdave]

We got the Sportwagen and Alltrack here with available manuals...lots of folks have them. Challenge is adding power and many say they really aren't very good w/r to feel etc....lots of fixes though that people employ.

I'll clarify We get manuals & DSG on every version...except the R estate...R hatch is manual or DSG...

Audi get manuals or DSG...except for the RS versions in the estates..which is DSG only....


Basically marketing...the top end estate versions are niche..so they can't be bothered to offer two versions....

The MQB platform manual gearchange is crap...& all because VAG swapped all the metal relay plate, gearstick pivot pins, & everything else in the linkage between the shift knob & the gearbox....for PLASTIC!!


Result = loads of slop & unable to get 100% alignment of the cables...


That's why you have to retrofit loads of older metal parts..(as I have done)..& fit various Dieselgeek & 42DD stuff (as I have done)


I tend to "rally" my manual gearbox..so I'll do 6th down to 4th then 3rd...as it baulks going from 6th to 3rd directly even if the rpms match......upchanging I short shift from 4th to 6th most of the time..


I'd probably get used to a DSG & drive around its idiosyncrasies....but so far "no cigar"...

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

I'd probably get used to a DSG & drive around its idiosyncrasies....but so far "no cigar"...

Yeah - I personally love the DSG but it’s so dependent upon the factory tune, or whether the aftermarket tune is a good one. I love the characteristics of the DQ250 in my girlfriend’s TDI Wagon, 2014 JSW.

I loved the factory tuning much more on my mom’s 2011 CC than my 2015 MQB GTI. The MK7 DQ250 OEM tunes are gaaaarrrrbage. D is far too shifty and is largely unresponsive to your change in driving style - it does what it wants, when it wants to. And S never shifts, ever, for any reason, period.

Because of how poor the overall TCU tuning was on my 2015 GTI, I constantly found myself slapping it into S upon take-off to give myself a little rev in the lower gears, then slamming it into D for the automaticness of the upshifts, then into M to catch it at 4/5th. So it wouldn’t overshift past where I wanted to be.

This was because D’s takeoff characteristics were just too shifty on their own, and starting 1-2 in S allowed me some pickup. But the upshifts in manual mode were way less smooth and you could feel the car fall flat on its face even if the pedal was mashed. Slapping it into D from S in 2nd or 3rd around 30-40 mph gave enjoyable upshifting FEEL, until it CONTINUED to shift to 6th by 45 mph. Which is why I’d use M to keep it in 4th or 5th depending on the situation.

D had the best characteristics for coming to a complete stop (engine braking), while S had the best characteristics for slowing down, but then getting back on it without stopping.

And the Uni tune I got didn’t do the trick for me. It was basically the same as stock. So I went 6MT on my Alltrack, and now wish I went DSG lol. I’m not a manual purist but I’m picky with the specific tuning of the DSG. I prefer the older factory tunes on the PQ35 and Passat B6 platforms to the modernized “efficiency and emissions over drivability” tunes on the MQB vehicles.

 

[tigeo]

Yeah - I personally love the DSG but it’s so dependent upon the factory tune, or whether the aftermarket tune is a good one. I love the characteristics of the DQ250 in my girlfriend’s TDI Wagon, 2014 JSW.

I loved the factory tuning much more on my mom’s 2011 CC than my 2015 MQB GTI. The MK7 DQ250 OEM tunes are gaaaarrrrbage. D is far too shifty and is largely unresponsive to your change in driving style - it does what it wants, when it wants to. And S never shifts, ever, for any reason, period.

Because of how poor the overall TCU tuning was on my 2015 GTI, I constantly found myself slapping it into S upon take-off to give myself a little rev in the lower gears, then slamming it into D for the automaticness of the upshifts, then into M to catch it at 4/5th. So it wouldn’t overshift past where I wanted to be.

This was because D’s takeoff characteristics were just too shifty on their own, and starting 1-2 in S allowed me some pickup. But the upshifts in manual mode were way less smooth and you could feel the car fall flat on its face even if the pedal was mashed. Slapping it into D from S in 2nd or 3rd around 30-40 mph gave enjoyable upshifting FEEL, until it CONTINUED to shift to 6th by 45 mph. Which is why I’d use M to keep it in 4th or 5th depending on the situation.

D had the best characteristics for coming to a complete stop (engine braking), while S had the best characteristics for slowing down, but then getting back on it without stopping.

And the Uni tune I got didn’t do the trick for me. It was basically the same as stock. So I went 6MT on my Alltrack, and now wish I went DSG lol. I’m not a manual purist but I’m picky with the specific tuning of the DSG. I prefer the older factory tunes on the PQ35 and Passat B6 platforms to the modernized “efficiency and emissions over drivability” tunes on the MQB vehicles.

100%. The Uni tune is fine and does improve the D mode a bit but it's subtle. 90% of the time around town just D/driving like a normal person. If I want a little more RPM in 2 and 3 sport mode to start then back to D b/c sport hangs 3rd to 4K RPM which is 50+ mph too fast. If D was holding the gears more it would get annoying (to me) in slower speed situations like leaving my neighborhood...don't want second at 25 and I don't drive my stick that way either. It's about using the transmission to me and like a manual, the DSG needs some driver input to optimize the experience which or manual drivers should be no drama b/c they are used to it.